Out of the Fridge
by rockangel160
Summary: The Winter Soldier has been released from his frozen captivity once more to perform his new mission, but it takes some time of embarrassing helplessness before he can do what he was trained to do. Set shortly or during the events of Captain America: TWS. How long does it take for him to return to proper strength, and who is by his side throughout the whole process?
1. Chapter 1

The nurse had already prepared all the generic-brand hygienic products on the roll-away table by the time the patient starting moving. He was fresh from cryogenics and his vitals were stable, but they had a lot of work ahead of them before they could discharge him. According to his charts, he hadn't been awake in about three years, which was a relatively short time for him, but still hard on his body. Luckily, it would only take a few days for him to function properly as opposed to weeks or months for a regular man, but it was still going to be very long days.

He lay on the hospital bed drenched in sweat and melting ice, which mixed with the oil in his hair and gave a strange funk. They hadn't dressed him in a hospital gown, so only the tea-green flat sheet covered him from the waist down. The tag on his wrist, the one made from flesh and bone, read his ID number and "Soldier, Winter." After all, he wasn't Hydra's only project, so identification was necessary hospital protocol so that no one got the wrong treatment and caused a disaster.

Although he was already conscious, he hadn't fully opened his eyes yet, for every time he made even a small crack, the painful white light struck him. He would have covered his face, but his real arm wasn't awake yet, and his metal one wasn't cooperating at the moment. Then, he felt a light pressure right below the star, so he stretched his neck and slowly let the light in, ignoring the discomfort. His fuzzy vision could make out a hand placed directly on his arm, not grasping it, just, resting there. He looked up, but the face was too blurry to see any definite features, he could just make traces of the nurse's dark hair and light purple lips on tan skin.

"Hey, Soldier." The mouth cracked open into a small grin, and after three blinks, he could see the outline of her round brown eyes and the neat bun hanging down the back of her neck. She looked down at him like a mother hen watching her chicks hatch, moving hair strands off his face. He didn't return her smile.

"I hope you slept well. You can't eat just yet, but we're going to go ahead and give you a bath and maybe a shave." She grabbed her gray plastic tray and soaked the sponge with soap.

He pulled the sheet over himself as he turned away from her. She tipped her head at him, "C'mon. You don't want to stay stinky, do you? It doesn't hurt."

He rolled onto his back, but he still didn't face her. She folded the sheet to uncover his chest and scrubbed in circles around his neckline.

"Does that feel okay?"

He didn't answer. Of course it didn't hurt, but he didn't exactly enjoy it, either. Still, it was nice to have someone ask him that for a change. After she soaked him in suds all over, she had to rinse him which drenched the flat sheets in a soapy solution.

"I know it doesn't feel comfortable, but it's only for a little bit longer."

He tried to say something back, but all that came out from his mouth was "Hbbbfffgr."

"Oh that' s right. The doctor said you wouldn't be able to speak for the first few hours. I'm sorry, I won't try to make you talk anymore."

He may not have been able to speak, but he could still scoff. No one expected him to say much anyway. When she moved onto washing his hair, Pierce walked in to check on his most valuable asset.

"Ah, Nurse Fox, is he coming along well?"

"He hasn't been off the ice for even an hour, so he's still pretty out of it, but he's stabilized and he's almost clean", she sounded optimistic as she raked her fingers against his scalp as his head lay face down in the porcelain sink directly across from his bed. He slumped forward, letting his arms dangle and almost slipping from the stool.

"Hey." Pierce barked at him, making him pull his head from the sink and stare at him through the wet strands of dirt brown, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

The Winter Soldier weakly held up four of his metal fingers, one more than Pierce did, which made the old man shake his head in disappointment, "Just finish washing him up. As long as he's up and running by tomorrow."

"Sir, with all due respect, is that possible? He can't even walk yet. I had to carry him this far." Nurse Fox held onto him by his shoulders.

"It'll be a personal record for him, but I'm sure you can manage it. He never stops impressing me." Pierce gave a cheeky smile before leaving them to their business.

Nurse Fox sighed. They were always making such impossible demands of their medical staff. Didn't they understand that healing took time? She tensed up as she tried to avoid thinking about the consequences if she failed her task. Once she rinsed his hair clean and rubbed it in a towel, she lifted his arm over her shoulders and walked him back to the hospital bed. He could sit up, which was progress. He pressed down on his thighs to hold his chest up and look at the still-blurry figure in pink scrubs.

"Well," She tried to put that cheery energy back into her voice, "Looks like we have a long night ahead of us."


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you ready to eat now?" Nurse Fox put the apple sauce cup, boiled egg, and milk carton on the sliding table hovering over his bed. Well, he couldn't just refuse her after she already put all of it in front of him, so he dipped his chin to his chest and raised it again in one hesitant nod.

After she peeled the foil off the applesauce, she looked around for a moment before rolling her eyes, "Shoot, I forgot the spoon. I'll be right back."

He watched the pink blur disappear into the hallway and squinted his eyes to try to get a better look at his meal. The only thing that was distinguishable was the oval white egg, so reached for that first and bit right into it. Unfortunately, even up close, he couldn't tell that the eggs wasn't peeled, so he gnashed his teeth against the shell, making sharp little pieces stick into his tongue and in between his teeth.

"Sweetie, no!" Nurse Fox rushed back, tossing a plastic packet of napkins and utensils onto the table and pulling the egg out of his mouth, "You can't eat through the shell, silly."

He made a sour face as he spit out the pieces, which she collected on a napkin and disposed of. He tried to tell her that he couldn't see clearly, but he only made gibberish noises again. However, she did notice his excessive blinking, which indicated that his eyes were dry. A few eye drops fixed that up quickly. He shut his eyes tightly and rubbed them as the fluids settled and the stray drops dripped down like tears. With his now-perfect vision, he looked around at everything, taking in the white yellowing walls and pastel blue wooden cabinets, and the sharp definition of his nurse's face. Her lips were thin on top, but plump on the bottom, with a thin layer of lip balm shining over her naturally purple lips. Her tan skin made brown circles around her eyes and the bottom tips of her straight nose. As he noticed before, most of her dark brown hair was kept in a tight bun, save for her side-swept bangs. He also finally read her name tag, clearly: Melinda Fox.

"Alright, open up" She held the spoonful of applesauce right in front of his lips, and when he opened them, he expected her to shove it in and back out again, but she actually waited for him to envelope his mouth around it before gently sliding it back. After a few more spoonfuls, she asked him if he was thirsty. He nodded more assertively this time, so she opened up the milk carton, added a bright orange bendy straw and let him hold it himself. As he slurped and blew bubbles, she peeled the shell off his hard-boiled egg, although the dent he made already gave her a head start. He observed as she patiently tore the strips off. She didn't look upset or bothered that he made such a careless mistake, but more like she was just content to help.

"Can you chew?" She asked, waiting for his nod before she gave him the egg and chuckled, "Alright, go easy on it this time."

Rather than biting into it whole, he pinched off bite-size pieces for himself. His stomach started feeling funny, but he wasn't sure if it was because he was full or if he wasn't digesting properly. He heaved a little, which prompted his nurse to grab his arm and ask, "Do you feel sick? Do you need to throw up?"

He slowly breathed for a few more seconds before shaking his head. She gave him a few minutes to relax with the TV. It was the only thing that gave him a sense of time and place before he was released out into the world. The only change he ever noticed in this hospital room was when the nurses replaced their dresses with scrubs. It felt like only two weeks ago when he woke up and the year was 1991. The first difference he noticed is that the scrunchie replaced the hair ribbons he was used to seeing. When he turned on the TV, he saw that some sports star was arrested, the markets were booming, and a royal marriage in England was troubled. This time, he saw reports of a missing plane, reactions to the last episode of a sitcom he missed entirely, and number signs, lots and lots of number signs (apparently they're called hashtags now). He didn't know how much of this he would be allowed to retain. After all, ideally he was only supposed to know who to shoot, and after this mission, and all this information would be useless as he was locked away for another several years.

When Melinda came back, it was time to walk. He had to take it in baby steps, of course. They started with standing. When he pushed himself up, he felt lightheaded and dizzy and fell back on the bed.

"It's alright, just relax and take it slowly." She encouraged him as she stood by his side.

He tried again, this time holding onto the bed as he gently straightened his back after getting on his feet. When he felt secure enough, he let go, and lingered there. Melinda clapped and cheered for him, which was a little patronizing, but then again, she had a lot on the line if she didn't have him completely rehabilitated by tomorrow.

Standing was a cake walk compared to actually walking. His legs felt fine until he tried to take steps, then they felt like heavy stilts. He took two steps before he fell to his knees and Melinda chirped, "Oops. Careful."

She grabbed his hands when he stood back up, supporting his weight as he inched forward in little steps, "There we go…keep going."

She let go to let him take steps on his own, and it went well, until he tried to take a regular-sized step and fell down again.

"Oh dear," She tapped on her mouth with her hands in a steeple, "We'll get this down, eventually."


	3. Chapter 3

The Winter Soldier, one of the most enigmatic and ruthless assassins of modern history, spent the last few hours of daylight tottering around his hospital room, and falling on his hands and knees every few steps. His only break was for dinner, where Nurse Fox attempted to feed him the usual patient's meal: a slice of chicken breast, with peas and carrots. She thought since he kept his lunch down he was ready to move onto meat and vegetables. She was wrong, oh so very wrong, and she had to replace his sheets while throwing the vomit-soaked set in the laundry bin. She made it perfectly clear that she was not upset with him. She didn't shiver in disgust or raise her voice with him, but he still felt embarrassed enough to withdraw in a fetal position on his bed. She tried to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he stiffened and drew away, so she only gently placed the new blanket over him, and said with her usual smile, "You should take a nap."

He immediately shut his eyes tightly and shuffled around, like he was trying to make himself fall asleep as quickly as possible. She realized that she had accidentally made that sound like a command and not a suggestion, so she tried again, "Would you like to rest for a while?"

He nodded and found his comfy position, taking a moment to truly relax. She turned off the light to help him sleep. While she initially planned to only let him take a 30-minute power nap, every time she walked in to wake him up, she could hear his calm breaths and couldn't bear to take him away from that peace. He ended up sleeping for three hours straight, but as usual, woke up confused. What year was it now? Why was it so dark? Where and how was he supposed to get his next mission? The Winter Soldier couldn't just be awake for the sake of being awake, he had to be up for a purpose, and until he knew his purpose, he was vulnerable to the enemy, whoever that may be.

When Nurse Fox came back in, finally deciding to wake him, she turned on the lights, but was unable to find him. She widened her eyes, so close to panicking and calling Code Brown. As she turned to rush out and look for him in the hallways, she found him crouched right behind her, which shocked her enough to make her shriek. He may not have been able to walk yet, but he could still pounce on her and squeeze her throat, instinctively reaching for a knife that should be strapped to his belt.

"AH!" She managed to scream hoarsely and used her stretched arms to keep him at a distance, "Stop! It's just me!"

As quickly as his hunting instincts had set in, his first recent memory of her face smiling at him as he opened his eyes was triggered by the same hand that rested gently on his shoulder now pushing him away. He froze immediately and crawled off of her, for if he knew one thing right now, it was that this woman was not the enemy. As he backed into the corner, ashamed and afraid, she surprised him once again with her almost instant forgiveness.

"It's alright, I understand." She crawled over to him, brushed his bangs out of the way and looked directly into his baby blue eyes, "They warned me this would happen. Everything is okay. I am here for you."

They told her beforehand that she was working with a dangerous killer, and that he was kept on ice for the greater good. They warned her not to provoke him, but they couldn't have warned her of how infantile his gaze could be. Her job was literally to get him up and running. She wasn't supposed to get attached.


	4. Chapter 4

Midnight was approaching, and Nurse Fox was getting hungry. This wing of the hospital was small and isolated, and there were only two or three other nurses on the nightshift with her. She would have packed a snack if she had been informed ahead of time she would be pulling an all-nighter. Until now, she had been ignoring the rumbling of her stomach because the Winter Soldier was finally walking on his own. The moment had been quite glorious, she almost wanted to take a video on her phone, but she knew that was strictly prohibited.

"Okay, let go…now." She shuffled her feet backwards, ready to catch him if he fell, but this time, he didn't stumble in his steps. He kept his feet planted until he was ready to move forward. Heel to ball. Left, right, left. He swung his arms around to keep his balance, but he was doing it! He walked across the room, in circles, took steps back, even made quick turns.

"Yay, we did it!" She cheered and clapped for him, which actually made him smile and quietly chuckle. Her encouragement put comfortable warmth in him.

"Take a break, you've earned it." She unveiled the blanket across the bed so he could lay on it, "I'm going to step out for a little bit, I'll be back in 20 minutes."

His smile dropped into a scared frown. What was he supposed to do while she was gone? He was too worked up to sleep, and he had gotten too used to her being around him all day. What if something happened to her while she was gone? What if someone came after him? Along with the intrusive paranoid thoughts, he also had this primal impulsive to follow her. As the first person he set eyes on, the first to lay her hands on him, he had imprinted her during this vulnerable stage of recuperation.

He could walk at a regular pace, but once he left his room, she was already down the hall and turning the corner. He walked faster, but he had a long way if he wanted to catch up, so he tried running. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite ready for that yet.

"Mmm! Mmfffa!" He tried calling out for her, but he hadn't gotten his words back either. He whimpered and waddled down the hallway, but as he spun to turn the corner, he lost his balance and the whole front of his body hit the hard tiled floors with a loud thud, which finally caught his nurse's attention.

"Oh my goodness!" She shrieked and ran over to him, pulling his shoulders up from under his arms, "What are you doing? I said I would only be gone for a little while."

He groaned as he wrapped his arms around her waist for support in getting his legs up, but instead of letting go, he looked up at her with pleading watery eyes. She had to do a double take at the sight. The Soldier, who had attacked her on instinct less than four hours ago was now clinging to her like a baby monkey, too scared to be left alone.

"I can't take you with me, I'm sorry. It's against the…" She patted his head as she tried to explain, but he only squeezed her tighter, almost cutting off her circulation, which made her gasp, "Uggh…! Okay! Let's go…!"

She got him a wheelchair so that they could sneak out faster. She buckled him up to the backseat of her blue Dodge minivan, right next to the toddler carseat.

"Sorry about the mess, my little one likes to throw Cheez-Its at his brother. My husband insists that we wait until he grows out it before we clean the car." From her rear view mirror, Melinda could see the Soldier flicking the small wooden dreamcatcher suctioned onto the window.

"You like that? My father made it for my kids last time he came to visit. You see, he's a full-blooded Cherokee, all the way from Oklahoma, so he doesn't get to come out here often." She stared ahead on the dark and empty street, "He's always trying to talk me into going back home, says the reservation needs more people like me, those who got their degree. I mean, it's not that I don't _like _home, I love it actually, but I mean is that the best thing for my kids? Also, my husband does sales, and all his best customers are here. It would be difficult for him to just pick up and leave the network he has here…and then of course, I don't know if…" She sighed as she trailed off.

When she first started out, all she was told that she would be working at a government hospital. By the time she knew even the slightest bit of the truth, she was already stuck. She had a family that HYDRA could take away in an instant. She didn't ask questions, and she didn't explore. She just did her job, which she felt was the most humane job on the planet, taking care of those who can't do it themselves. No matter who her employer was, she would only do what she was trained to do, and that was to help. Still, she couldn't just ignore the fact that she was trapped here.

At the drive-thru at McDonalds, Melinda pulled down her car window and said, "I'll have the 8-pack nuggets, small fries, and a diet Coke." She turned her head and asked, "Do you want anything? Oh, darn, I'm sorry, I forgot you can't stomache it yet" She looked back at the order box, biting her lip. She didn't want to eat all this in front of him when he had nothing; that would be rude!

"Okay, and… a chocolate shake too."

All the way back to the hospital, the Winter Soldier savored the frosty sweetness, even if he had to suck his eyeballs back into his skull just to get it up the straw.


End file.
